U.S. stock indexes start session mildly lower

KateGibson

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks opened with modest losses on Tuesday ahead of a report on consumer confidence and after euro-zone finance ministers loosened terms on loans to Greece. "Consumer confidence is very important to us but we'll ignore," Art Hogan, market strategist at Lazard Capital Markets, said of Wall Street's fixation on the so-called fiscal cliff. "The good news is we'll build the case for equities while waiting for Washington to have a crisis of common sense," Hogan added of efforts by lawmakers to reach a deal to avoid billions in automatic spending cuts and tax hikes set to start in the new year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA, -0.32%
was off 19.9 points, or 0.2%, at 12,947.47. The S&P 500 index
SPX, -0.23%
shed 1.7 point, or 0.1%, to 1,404.51. The Nasdaq Composite
COMP, -0.01%
declined 2.36 points, or 0.1%, to 2,974.42.

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